One of the things that needs to be done in fighting the Pledge is to get more veterans to realize how disgraceful their behavior is when they blindly endorse the Pledge as written.
About a dozen veterans showed up at the Zoning Board meeting in North Hampton to protest the fact that one of the members does not say the Pledge.
(See: Veterans fight for Pledge of Allegiance in North Hampton)
“Since Dec. 7, 1941, 524,000 Americans sacrificed their lives for that flag,” Fatello said during the meeting.
Mr. Fatello, one of those people who sacrificed their lives was Charlie Fair. He was a friend of my dad's - so close of a friend that my younger brother is named after him. He was an atheist. You have the gall to come here and demand that, in the name of patriotism, everybody in this council must stand and insult Charlie Fair by insisting that a person is not a patriot unless he fights for 'one nation under God'. You have the gall to come here and insist that people like Charlie Fair who do not support 'one nation under God' are just as bad - just as un-American - as somebody who does not support 'one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all'.
In the name of honoring veterans, you insist that this body dishonor Charlie Fair.
Mr. Fatello, look at the veteran standing next to you for a moment. Now tell me, Mr. Fatello, what your reaction would be if your government told you that, in the name of patriotism, you must insult him. You must tell the world that this veteran, who has served his country honorably, must be insulted, and that the citizen who fails to insult him cannot be a true patriot. Would you then, in the name of patriotism, insult the veteran standing next to you? Or would you tell the person who insists that patriotism requires insulting a fellow veteran to go to hell?
If it is the latter, then why are you not telling the people who insist that you insult Charlie Fair to go to hell?
Not only are you NOT telling the person who tells you to insult a fellow veteran to go to hell. You are the one demanding that patriotism requires that they insult a fellow veteran - that the say that a fellow veteran who honorably served is, nonetheless, no better than one who supports tyranny and injustice for all.
So you, Mr. Fatello, are the one who deserves to be told to go to hell - until you learn that soldiers who fought to defend this country deserve their country' respect, not your insults.
No comments:
Post a Comment